At the time, I was six months into living in Berlin and excited about the city, but my health took a turn which had me return back to England for treatment.
When home, I tried looking for support I could connect with but I was disappointed to see almost nothing out there for LGBTIQ+ patients. When I went into cancer centres I saw hundreds of leaflets along the wall, but none of them were aimed at me or my community.
I asked in multiple cancer centres over the years for LGBTIQ+ support and was always met with an apology. It left me feeling like I had one foot in the cancer world and the other in the LGBTIQ+ world and didn’t know how to bring the two together.
I felt like that for years.
Eventually, I set about creating OUTpatients and we are now able to reach and support people from all over the UK and the world.
OUTpatients provides a safe space for anyone who identifies as part of the queer spectrum and has had an experience with any kind of cancer – at any stage. For more tailored support, please use the following links.